Travel to Australia

Day 21 Kakadu N.P. (289 Km.)

(in 149 Km.) Mary River Roadhouse: We leave the Katherine hostel, heading north, to enter the Kakadu National Park. We access the park through the access of Mary River Roadhouse. Kakadu National Park is a unique area of ​​almost intact virgin land and, next to Uluru, the most visited natural park in Australia. Considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, it became very famous after being used as the setting for the movie Crocodile Dundee. The park owes its name to the group of aboriginal people of the Gagudju language, who abound among the traditional watchmen of the area.

(in 48 Km.) Gunlom (Waterfall Creek): This waterfall is one of the scenarios of Crocodile Dundee, which is accessed by a 36 km unpaved road from the Kakadu Highway exit. When we visited the area, in the dry season, there was hardly any water, but it is a pleasant place to swim (although some signs warn of the possibility that there is a crocodile in the area) in the shadow of the Cayeputis. The steep path to the top of the waterfall contains even more ponds to take a dip.

(in 132 Km.) Cooinda: We arrive at the hostel of this town and prepare to visit two of the attractions of this area: The Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Center and especially the Yellow Waters lagoon, which is formed in the plains adjacent to Cooinda where the Jim Jim River begins to wind. From this area, FWD excursions are also organized to the remote Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls. We decided not to do this excursion because we were told that by that time the falls were dry, although not the ponds where we can cool off.

Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre: The Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Center, a turtle-shaped building located on the access road to Cooinda, offers different exhibitions designed regularly on the culture and traditions of local Aboriginal people, in addition to an art and craft store. One of the things that most attract attention is to see how some of the names of the authors of the different works are covered. This is so because in aboriginal culture when a person dies their name must be hidden, etc.

Yellow Waters: The inner Yellow Waters lagoon is located right next to Cooinda. From the parking lot a short path leads along the bank of the blind river, from where leave the cruises that navigate the lush vegetation channels. The cruises are more interesting during the first hours of the morning and the last hour of the afternoon, as they visit the lagoon and wildlife at its best. Visits for the hottest hours of the day are 30 minutes shorter and allow you to see fewer animals, but they are a few dollars cheaper.

We let ourselves be advised by local guides and we got on the sunset cruise. They told us that in the first cruise of the morning you can see many birds, in the second one you can see crocodiles, while in the evening you can see both birds and crocodiles drying in the Sun. The truth is that they did not deceive us. During the cruise we got the feeling that we were immersed in a National Geographic documentary. As a climax to the cruise we arrive at the jetty accompanied by a spectacular sunset. It is an experience that cannot be missed. In addition to navigating along spectacular landscapes, the feeling of approaching a wild crocodile of five and a half meters is unrepeatable.

The months of the dry season of June, July and August are the most popular times to visit this area as well as the park in general, with a tolerable humidity and temperatures and a fairly abundant wildlife. Towards the end of the dry season, birds congregate around the declining ponds, while rising November temperatures and huge thunderstorms, known as the Build Up, announce the arrival of the wet season. Visiting Kakadu during the wet or early dry season is, for some, to see it at its best: there is water everywhere and, while some points of interest are inaccessible and wildlife is dispersed, the terrain manifests the kind of green splendor that people often expect, but cannot find in the most visited months.